Shelters afford protection when needed. For particular situations, shelter needs are specific, such as with animal shelters, bus shelters, homeless shelters, or bomb shelters, for example. In other situations, shelter designs are more general to serve multiple purposes. A home, for instance, is often a permanent structure made to shield against weather and unwanted incursions while furnishing its occupants with comfort and the amenities of day-to-day living.
In emergency applications, the need for a shelter is usually immediate with the location of the shelter being unknown until the emergency occurs. The typical shelter is made by a minimum number of persons. In some cases, a building on location is appropriated for emergency use or a mobile shelter is driven to the emergency. In other cases, however, the emergency occurs in a remote area with limited access and no preexisting structures.
In military applications, shelter needs are mission specific. With operating troops and transported gear being allocated to meeting mission objectives, resources for shelter building are usually at a minimum, particularly in remote locations. Small unit operations are typically conducted from makeshift shelters constructed using locally available building materials. Some structures made in this fashion are manpower intensive, require the significant use of tools, and cannot be reused.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure.
The system, apparatus and method components have been represented, where appropriate, by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present teachings so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.